(AQW 833/01)

Reply: [holding answer 15 January 2002]: Our department through its Community Relations Unit provides funding under the District Council Community Relations Programme. Under this Programme Larne Borough Council has developed a Community Relations Plan which provides support and funding for community relations initiatives in the Borough. This plan is also directly linked to the Council’s Corporate plan which states as a key strategic objective that "The Council will strive to effect positive and sustainable changes in community relations in the Borough".

Also, with the support of the Community Relations Unit, Larne District Partnership Board convened exploratory meetings with Larne Borough Council officials, the Community Relations Council and the Mediation Network to consider what might be done to improve community relations in the Borough. As a result proposals emerged for an initial consultative process to be taken forward by the Mediation Network.

From this process a Forum for Social Development has been created. The aim of the Forum is to improve understanding across the community in Larne by:

• The provision of facilitated space for conversation.

• Working through an agreed agenda.

• Understanding that this is a first phase to be built upon.

• Ensuring that membership reflects the entire community.

There have been three meetings convened to date with differing representation at each. The meetings are co-ordinated, chaired and facilitated by the Mediation Network for Northern Ireland. These initial meetings have taken place to discuss the kind of work that could be taken forward by the Forum, and to consider widening the membership of the Forum . It is intended that the forum will eventually be representative of the Business, Church, Youth, Community, Education and Voluntary sectors as well as elected members of Larne Borough Council, Larne Local Strategic Partnership and local MLAs. Consideration will also be given to having as balanced a group as possible in respect of gender, religion, age and rural/urban background.

(AQW 1529/01)

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ms Rodgers): The isolation of inconclusive reactors to the tuberculin test is required under Council Directive 64/432 and therefore my Department has no scope to review this procedure.

(AQW 1530/01)

Ms Rodgers: The £4.8 million spent on TB and the £3.44 million spent on Brucellosis were sourced from my Departmental budget.

(AQW 1652/01)

Ms Rodgers: EU regulations do not set an earliest date for payments but they do require payments to be made according to the terms and conditions set out in the Northern Ireland Rural Development Plan as approved by the Commission. One of the conditions is that payments can only be made to producers who maintain suckler-cow beef herds or sheep breeding flocks on their eligible land at a stocking density of at least 0.2 Livestock Units per hectare. The necessary information is taken from claims for 2001 for Sheep Annual Premium and Suckler Cow Premium schemes. As the Suckler Cow Scheme does not close until December each year the practical consequences of this are that payments cannot realistically commence until late February/early March 2002.

(AQW 1653/01)

Ms Rodgers: Forest Service statistics identify whether the land planted is agricultural or non-agricultural, rather than the occupation of the person carrying out the planting.

In the financial year 1997/1998, 419 hectares of agricultural land were planted.

In the financial year 1998/1999, 562 hectares of agricultural land were planted.

In the financial year 1999/2000, 601 hectares of agricultural land were planted.

In the financial year 2000/2001, 485 hectares of agricultural land were planted.

(AQW 1654/01)

Ms Rodgers: The capital enhancement (E-Plan) element of the Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) Scheme was closed to new applications with effect from 1 April 1999 because there were insufficient funds to meet demands. This was because of a significant and unanticipated upsurge in demand to exceed the budget available for capital works.

I recognise the demand for the re-opening of this discretionary element of the ESA Scheme. Indeed that interest is represented in one of the recommendations of the Vision Report. As you know the consultation period in respect of Vision has now closed and I wish to consider all recommendations and representations carefully, including those in respect of the reintroduction of capital enhancement measures.

I do hope to be in a position to announce my response to the Vision exercise in the next few months but until then I shall not be in a position to be more definitive about the reintroduction of this element of the ESA Scheme.

(AQW 1655/01)

Ms Rodgers: The Family of Settlements Report, which is a DRD publication, highlights the need to balance future development in the rural community whilst at the same time preserving and sustaining a high quality of life. The Report outlines a strategy that will enable all the regions of Northern Ireland to develop Area Plans and evaluate new housing developments against criteria, including an Urban and Rural Character Test, and will be evaluated and reviewed on a regular basis. I welcome this Report and the Regional Development Strategy which it underpins.

(AQW 1691/01)

Ms Rodgers: Following appointment, Board members should receive appropriate and timely information to assist them in carrying out their role, in line with recommendations made by the Committee on Standards in Public Life.

The information includes a copy of the Code of Best Practice for Board Members which takes account of the Guidance on Codes of Best Practice for Board Members of Public Bodies, incorporated in the White Paper ‘The Governance of Public Bodies: A Progress Report’ published in February 1997.

The 'Guidance on Codes of Best Practice for Board Members of Public Bodies' covers such issues as the Role of the Chair and Chief Executive; the corporate and individual responsibilities of Board Members in ensuring high standards of propriety and governance; handling conflicts of interest, including the keeping of public registers and the legal restrictions in taking part in decisions; board members’ political activities; personal liability, and issues of openness and responsiveness.

Members of the Board of the Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission are required to comply with a Code of Conduct which was approved by the North/South Ministerial Council at its meeting on 5 July 2000. The Code of Conduct is based on the Nolan Principles.

(AQW 1800/01)

Ms Rodgers: There are no immediate plans to make farm subsidy payments in euros in respect of schemes administered by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. However, the Department will be considering in conjunction with the other UK agriculture departments the feasibility of providing farmers with the option of receiving grant and subsidy payments in euros at the earliest practical opportunity. Traders already have the option of receiving market support payments in euros.

(AQW 1801/01)

Ms Rodgers: The Policy Commission on the Future of Farming and Food was created in fulfilment of a manifesto commitment by the Labour Party and its remit covered England only. In its final report published on 29 January 2002, the Commission did make a number of recommendations which, if acted upon, would have implications for the rest of the UK. Should proposals for change emerge as a result of these recommendations, they would, of course, be discussed by the four UK Agriculture Ministers as appropriate and any subsequent action would be subject to collective decision. Naturally, I would seek to ensure that Northern Ireland’s interests were fully reflected in such decisions.

On the specific subject of CAP reform and the reorientation of agricultural support, I must point out that, ultimately, this is a matter for agreement among the 15 EU Member States. I, of course, recognise that there are pressures for reform arising from a number of sources and we simply can not ignore these in the hope that they might go away. However, as I have stated publicly on a number of occasions, any reform of the CAP must be sensitive to the needs of the agricultural and rural communities. In particular, we should avoid adding to their existing fears and uncertainties about the future and must not risk creating feelings of isolation and exclusion. Any reform must take place only at a pace which the industry can sustain and there need to be mechanisms put in place to help the industry through this change process.

(AQW 1509/01)

The Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure (Mr McGimpsey): The information you requested is not available. However, I attach a summary of tennis facility provision in Northern Ireland at district council level.

Facility Provider

(AQW 1564/01)

Mr McGimpsey: Funding for the promotion of Irish language is allocated to the North/South Language Body. Projects with an Irish language dimension may, subject to meeting the programme criteria, avail of funding from departmental programmes with a range of objectives.

The amounts below include money allocated to the North/South Language Body, mainstream programme funding, European programme funding and funding for education through the medium of Irish. It is not always possible to identify the Irish language funding element, if any, in a grant for much wider objectives.

(AQW 1570/01)

Mr McGimpsey: Firstly I would refer you to a report commissioned by the Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister entitled "Public Expenditure and New Targeting Social Need" which was published in November 2001. This report is based on research work carried out by Economic, Planning and Environmental Consultants Limited and covered all Government Departments. This can be accessed on the internet at www.research.ofmdfmni.gov.uk. The main references to this Department are contained in pages 13 and 14 and I have attached copies of these for ease of reference.

Many of the Department’s business areas contribute to TSN objectives, particularly in relation to providing access to facilities and services by disadvantaged groups, increasing job opportunities in disadvantaged areas and promoting social inclusion.

The Public Library Service contributes to the new TSN objectives through ensuring access for disadvantaged people to education and learning facilities with a view to improving employability and increasing social and economic participation. The Department estimates that about 5% (£970,000) of the available public library resources have been "skewed" to the Education and Library Boards on the basis of social deprivation. Each Board area has opened a centre of excellence providing adaptive technology for the disabled and visually impaired people to enable access to the internet and world wide web.

Investment in the Performing and Creative Arts also contributes to new TSN objectives, although the precise allocation of resources is difficult to quantify. The Arts Council has estimated that it spent in the region of £900,000 (13% of grant in aid) in 2000/2001 on TSN objectives and this figure is expected to rise to £1.3 million (or 16% of grant in aid) in 2001/2002. In addition to this some 32% of spend on the Awards for All Scheme administered by the Community Fund in the period April 2001 – December 2001 was directed at the most disadvantaged local authority areas.

Of the £450,000 budget for the Creativity Seed Fund in 2001/2002, around £70,000 is being directed to pilot projects that are designed to impact on marginalised young people – Northern Visions £30k, Synergy E-media £25k and Childrens’ Express £15k.

Of the £412,000 grant in aid to the Northern Ireland Film Commission for 2001/2002, £110,000 is being directed to organisations (The Nerve Centre £80k and Northern Visions, £30k) with a track record in working with people from disadvantaged groups/areas.

The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, as part of its outreach and learning strategy, is opening up contact with schools in areas of social disadvantage. It is envisaged that the exploratory work and the provision of services to these schools, whether in-house in PRONI or in the school environment or online, will take up 20% of the time of a member of curatorial staff, ie around £5,000.

The Department has recently been allocated £5 million under the Water Based Tourism measure of Peace II for an Angling Development Programme and a Water Recreation Programme. The Department is committed to allocating at least 60% of the funding from these programmes to areas of social need.

In addition to the above, many projects funded from Lottery funds and through the Events Company contribute to TSN objectives. The Department has also spent in the region of £15,000 on research work to establish baseline data for TSN monitoring purposes.

The Department is engaged in a range of research including demand for Irish and Ulster-Scots childcare and pre-school education and minority ethnic language issues. A training pilot project for Irish language TV and film production will start on 11 February 2002. An interdepartmental working group chaired by DCAL has agreed to undertake a "Future Search" process which will involve full consultation with colleagues and representatives of minority ethnic groups. The estimated expenditure on these activities is £250k in this financial year. It is not possible to identify separately the TSN element.

There are other aspects of the Department’s work which support TSN objectives which are difficult to quantify in budgetary terms. OSNI products and services support a broad range of activities that are crucial to the economic and social development in both rural and urban areas of Northern Ireland. OSNI’s topographic and geographic data for example, underpin town and country planning, health services planning, maintenance of public utilities, pollution control and emergency services.

Overall, I believe this level of activity over a wide range of the Department’s functions reflects a serious commitment by the Department to targeting social need.

(AQW 1571/01)

Mr McGimpsey: During the past 3 financial years grants awarded by the Arts Council Lottery Fund broken down by Constituency are as follows:

Details of all Lottery Awards made by all National Lottery Distributing Bodies across the UK can be accessed through the Awards Search on the Web Site of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport:
www.culture.gov.uk/lottery/index.html

(AQW 1573/01)

Mr McGimpsey: I must state at the outset that Government funding for the arts in Northern Ireland, including the Ulster Orchestra, is disbursed through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. Financial grants and awards were paid to the Ulster Orchestra since 1996 as follows:

*The Lottery grants awarded during the 6 year period covered specific schemes including education projects, the commissioning of new work, touring in Northern Ireland and audience development. Total funds, including Lottery grants, allocated to the Orchestra by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland from 1996 to 2002 is £8,641,428.

The proportion of the Orchestra’s funding of £8,641,428 spent on the Schools/Youth Programme is £1,003,884, which represents 11.6% of total funding. The Ulster Orchestra also fundraises specifically for its education budget from trusts, foundations, sponsors, district councils (Stakeholding Scheme) and education and library boards. The money raised and spent on this additional education work is not represented by the figures above.

(AQW 1616/01)

Mr McGimpsey: I can confirm that since devolution two printing contracts have been awarded under tender to W & G Baird by the two Agencies of DCAL. The details are as follows:

Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland £1,740. The lowest tender was accepted and there was no variation between quoted and actual costs paid.

Public Record Office of Northern Ireland £6,215. The lowest tender was not selected and the actual costs paid were less than the original quotation.

(AQW 1620/01)

Mr McGimpsey: The North South Ministerial Council meeting in Language Sectoral format on 7 December 2001 approved the process for selection of a Chief Executive by open competition.

Tha Boord o Ulster-Scotch has contracted PricewaterhouseCoopers Belfast (consultants) to manage the recruitment competition.

It is for Tha Boord o Ulster-Scotch to agree a job description and person specification for the Chief Executive post in accordance with best practice, which includes establishing the competences required to meet business need.

(AQW 1621/01)

Mr McGimpsey: The new Chief Executive for Tha Boord o Ulster-Scotch has not been appointed yet. The appointment will be a matter for Tha Boord o Ulster Scotch, subject to the approval of the North/South Ministerial Council, and will be made in accordance with best practice, which includes establishing the competences required to meet business need.

(AQW 1638/01)

Mr McGimpsey: I am committed to ensuring that appointments to Public Bodies for which I have ultimate responsibility are made in accordance with the principles which came directly from recommendations by the Committee on Standards in Public Life (previously Nolan Committee now Neill Committee).

To this end, following appointment, all NDPB Board members receive relevant and timely information to assist them in carrying out their role, in line with the recommendations. The information includes a copy of the Code of Best Practice for Board Members which each NDPB has. This takes account of the Guidance on Codes of Best Practice for Board Members of Public Bodies, incorporated in the White Paper ‘The Governance of Public Bodies: A Progress Report’ published in February 1997 and subsequently updated by the Treasury in 2000 to take further account of the publication of the Government’s commitments in 'Quangos: Opening the Doors' published in June 1998 following the consultation exercise * that included Northern Ireland.

The 'Guidance on Codes of Best Practice for Board Members of Public Bodies' provides a framework which covers such issues as the Role of the Chair and Chief Executive; the corporate and individual responsibilities of Board Members in ensuring high standards of propriety and governance; handling conflicts of interest, including the keeping of public registers and the legal restrictions in taking part in decisions; board members’ political activities; personal liability, and issues of openness and responsiveness.

To promote public confidence my Department will continue to disseminate any revision of these guidelines to all NDPBs to ensure the highest standards of openness and transparency expected of all individuals appointed to NDPBs within my remit.

*'Opening Up Quangos' November 1997

(AQW 1676/01)

Mr McGimpsey: The information requested is a matter for the Irish Football Association as the Governing Body for soccer. You may therefore wish to make a direct approach to the Irish Football Association for this information.

(AQW 1677/01)

Mr McGimpsey: The information requested is a matter for the Irish Football Association as the Governing Body for soccer. You may therefore wish to make a direct approach to the Irish Football Association for this information.

(AQW 1678/01)

Mr McGimpsey: The information requested is a matter for the Irish Football Association as the Governing Body for soccer. You may therefore wish to make a direct approach to the Irish Football Association for this information.

(AQW 1699/01)

Mr McGimpsey: The information requested is a matter for the Irish Football Association as the Governing Body for soccer. You may therefore wish to make a direct approach to the Irish Football Association for this information. [R]

(AQW 1716/01)

Mr McGimpsey: The information requested is a matter for the Irish Football Association as the Governing Body for soccer. You may therefore wish to make a direct approach to the Irish Football Association for this information.

(AQW 1717/01)

Mr McGimpsey: The information requested is a matter for the Irish Football Association as the Governing Body for soccer. You may therefore wish to make a direct approach to the Irish Football Association for this information. [R]

(AQW 1782/01)

Mr McGimpsey: The information you requested is unavailable. However, I attach an analysis of golfing provision at district council level, broken down by 18 hole golf courses, 9 hole golf courses and driving ranges.

NORTHERN IRELAND 18 HOLE GOLF COURSES - Facility Provider

NORTHERN IRELAND 9 HOLE GOLF COURSES - Facility Provider

NORTHERN IRELAND DRIVING RANGES - Facility Provider

(AQO 817/01)

Mr McGimpsey: The New Opportunities Fund launched its £33.75m PE and Sport in Schools Programme in Northern Ireland on 23 January 2002 (this is a gross total and includes the NOF’s costs in administering the scheme). The aim of the programme is to bring about a step change in the attitude and involvement of young people and communities in physical activity and sport. This step change in provision is intended not just to offer sporting opportunities, but also to have a long-term impact on key issues facing local communities such as education, health, crime and drugs use.

Education and Library Boards will act as the Lead Organisations for the grant programme. The New Opportunities Fund has allocated funding to each Education and Library Board area as follows: